Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Guild Wars 2: Free Content What 'Responsible Companies Do'
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In an informative post on the Guild Wars 2 forums, Colin Johansen has written about some of the upcoming plans the team has for providing free content to players. It is summed up very nicely by a statement that indicates that free content should be paramount.
We do appreciate that you’d like to buy lots of new content, but we’d prefer to give a lot of it to you for free, cause that’s what we think a responsible MMO company does!
Read more on the Guild Wars 2 forum.
)
Comments
And that is why WE love Arena Net, they care for they players first and profit after. Thats why they made best MMO.
Look at Bioware and Funcom they are only trying to milk the players, ToR going F2P with probably paid content updates and TSW has cash shop + sub + box fee, no wonder they sold only 200k copies.
Thank you Arena Net for reviving MMO genre !!!
Most likely you'll need to play for expansions, but they did say long time ago (I think it was may or june, I'll hunt the links later) that GW2 will have a live team that will try to release new content monthly, and that all content produced by the live team will be free, so probably that's what he means there.
What can men do against such reckless hate?
WEll games like SWTOR, TSW and LOTRO are all in maintenance mode. Massive developer team reductions and just trying to figure out how to make a profit with the least content possible.
I like the 'promises' and i hope they go through with it but i also hope they are not biting on more than they can chew by saying stuff like 'reponsible companies'.
They are indirectly calling companies like Trion irresponsible? even though they churn out content faster than any other MMO since AC. I would say Trion is also very responsible company. Anet is lumping everyone together into one group by making statement like that.
Bite Me
EQ2 fan sites
BTW, here's the full post:
"No need to buy them, Gw2 will feature consistent free content updates and in-game events going forward. Our goal is to make it so you get more from Gw2 for free than you get from a game you pay a subscription for.
On top of a large amount of free bonus content, we will be expanding on offerings in the Black Lion Trading Company going forward, as well as be doing large-scale expansion content down the road.
We’ll cover a lot of the details on the kind of support and plans we have in place over the next month or so on the Gw2 blog and with our press partners.
We do appreciate that you’d like to buy lots of new content, but we’d prefer to give a lot of it to you for free, cause that’s what we think a responsible MMO company does!"
What can men do against such reckless hate?
Oh, I see. Well then this is weird because just about every MMO I have ever played provided free content in addition to actual paid expansions. So I'm a little confused what the "news" is.
Or is it, since the game is B2P, some people expected that what was released at launch was ALL the content they'd get until the next paid expansion?
Pretty sure that no matter what major expansions are going to cost money. Unless they are making a killing with Gem sales. But all content should be free but I would expect about every 1.5yr to pay of a major expansion and wouldn't complain.
Oh dear, rod and back spring to mind...
This is possibly the most idiotic Paul Barnett level thing he could ever say. How is the game going to be supported by free content exactly? How is that responsible, when we all know it' make no sense to give away major content releases for free?
It makes little sense, profitwise, so saying this just means people will beat ANET with a stick when the inevitable DLC packs come out.
The games good enough to support ongoing large updates that are paid for, don't try and make yourselves out as self imposed philanthophric saviours of the genre. It'll just blow up in your face.
This looks like a job for....The Riviera Kid!
I totally posted this tidbit first but feel free to close my thread in GW2/General thanks!
As I said there, if they can actually deliver on the "consistent free content updates and in-game events going forward" promise and give us frequent, high quality world events like the Beta weekends events, that will be a game changer.
I wonder what companies like Trion have to say about this. Anet being the only responsible company right now. It was a really below the belt kind of statement really.
Bite Me
Aent is hitting their competition, namely the Subcription model in general, at every opportunity!
They are REALLY trying to sell/push on the whole "why pay for THAT game with a sub fee when you can get all THIS from US for free?"
I happen to agree with them, and have already spent 40$ on gems lol so they've got almost 3 months sub fee out of me already... after less than 2 weeks! Sneaky bastards...
Who are these guys kidding? Content isn't free. It is paid for by the few % who dump a crap load of money into the game. Now you may think this is a good idea as you get to play for cheap while others support your broke arse ... but this always bites you in the ass with f2p games as the entire game slowly becomes engineered to support those who fork over the money. Actual free to play players will start seeing themselves gated out of nearly every high end feature.
I'll give Anet props though ... they are successfully brain washing their playerbase into thinking they provide a charity service to wanting gamers. The truth is that they are here to make money and their payment structure will start reflecting this as the months go by. F2p is the utlimate carrot on a stick. That is the entire foundation of the concept.
I agree that small content additions should be free no matter what the payment plan but payment revenue is expected by any company. They can only juice the small % who actually throw money at the CS so much before it becomes unfair for all. They are expected to pay too much even for them and gating becomes a massive problem. There has to be a balance where every player is expected to pay something at some time or everyone suffers.
You stay sassy!
Did you even read the post? He said SOME, not all, content will be free. It's almost a fact by now that there will be paid DLC and expansions.
"On top of a large amount of free bonus content, we will be expanding on offerings in the Black Lion Trading Company going forward, as well as be doing large-scale expansion content down the road."
Seriously can't anyone see that's how they will paid for these content updates and staff members.. Call subs games fail all you want but Remember these guys aren't working for free, and eventually box sales and black market trading house will reach to the point where it can't pay staffers anymore.
To this day I think arena net is foolish to not charge a sub rate and have a steady stream of cash coming in to level off whatever expense they get...
See its not that subs are bad, its the fact that all if not most sub games think there they are worth 15 a month for..
Can most of you guild wars lover can honestly say that if guild wars monthly fee was $2 you wouldn't still play it? I know I would happily, heck its less than bus fare here in Ny and way more fun..
Its the same problem on console where most games that are released cost $60 for standard editions etc, and they are crappy as hell.
YES- YOU ARE RIGHT-BUT I PREFER PAYING FOR THINGS IN THE SHOP FROM THESE GUYS THAN A MONTHLY FEE FROM OTHER COMPANIES OFFERING NOTHING BUT REGENERATED CONTENT AND EXPENSIVE USELESS EXPANSIONS AND DATED GAME MECHANICS...
yes nothing is free and i will support a game i enjoy playing at 'my expense', my time, and effort-repeat w/o a monthly fee.
and this is why Anet will get my money.
Enjoyed my ALL CAPS?
<.<
Free concent at the expense of the worst customer support known to man isn't really blowing my skirt back.
8 days since my account has been hacked with no resolution...
www.greedmonger.com
Did you like Ultima Online? Then you'll LOVE Greed Monger!
for ANETs purposes, a sub makes no sense for GW1 or GW2
worth noting, GW1 did not have a cash store until summer 2006 -- over a year after game launched
ANET added a free PVE content update, Sorrows Furnace, 5 months after launch Sept 2005
GW1 was designed with a business model of no sub
http://www.guildwars.com/events/tradeshows/gc2007/gcspeech.php
Guild Wars can be successful with its business model because we decided that we would not charge a subscription fee before we wrote the first line of code, and every design and technology decision we made served that purpose.
Inside the world of Guild Wars
http://gigaom.com/2006/10/26/guild-wars/
When NCSoft acquired Arena Net, Guild Wars’ developer, Garriott and his team discerned an audience not being served by the traditional subscription-based MMO. (“There’s a large number of people who don’t want to pay 15 dollars a month”, as he puts it.) Guild Wars was designed from the ground up to capture that niche, with community and help tools that minimized the need for frequent customer service
EQ2 fan sites
i dont think they are aiming at Trion with that statement. Trion is actively adding free content updates to the game. The only difference is that Rift has a sub. I think Colins statement fits all mmos that charge for all content updates or lock players until they pay (hybrid freemium models) and TSW with its ridiculous "insert your moneys here" anywhere you look. IMO
free content every proper company does that and its nothing special. arena net will sell their addons for good money ( i expect gw1 addon pricing)
Across the entire board, devs talk too fuckin much these days.
if that is how it is it also applys to a few NCsoft gameslike Aion Eu n Linage 2 n other i dont remember now. isnt ncsoft pubishing gw2?
when you say addon you mean full fledged expansion packs? if so, thats normal.... whats not "responsible" is what freemium mmos do..... blocking progression unless you pay. ALso some greedy sub based mmos if not all already adding cash shop in addition to sub, retail, expansion